Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay

After the wee road race on Saturday the Westies headed south to the Lake District for the Ian Hodgson Mountain Relay. We arrived early evening on Saturday to a sun-soaked Patterdale with Ulswater millpond flat and the hills full of golden autumnal colours. I could have just pulled on my running shoes and headed straight up into the hills. Instead we headed to the pub for some food and beer. The pints went down very easily, but we were well behaved and tucked up in bed at a sensible hour.

We woke on Sunday to see the clouds hugging the summits. So not as idilic as when we arrived on Saturday so the tactics and route tips we discussed in the pub would be doubly useful.

Chris and I lead the team away on the short first leg. We had a solid run, passing the baton onto Sam and Adam. They pulled in and passed the Carnethy team and recorded the 3^rd fasted time on the day for leg 2! Owen and Stanley carried the momentum into leg 3 picking up a few more places before dropping a few after some local teams (and Carnethy) picked a better route in the mist. They handed over to Brian and Manny who nailed their route and reeled in Carnethy to bring us home in 10^th overall and 1^st Scottish team!

Amazing running and great fun – well done Westies!